Delhi BJP leaders term Shaheen Bagh protest ‘threat to security’

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Delhi unit Wednesday termed the ongoing protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in southeast Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Delhi unit Wednesday termed the ongoing protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in southeast Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh a “threat to security” and said it was being held by “misled” people.

HT Image

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari and Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goel raised questions about the relevance of the protest and said it was causing an “inconvenience” to the general public.

Tiwari raised the issue on social media and said the public was suffering due to the ongoing impasse in Shaheen Bagh.

“39 days have passed since the roads are blocked in Shaheen Bagh and people are troubled by this. Students are wasting 2-2 hours in traffic (as they had to take alternate route) despite it being exam time. People going to office are also facing problem, traders are undergoing losses. Is this all valid? (sic)” Tiwari on Twitter asked chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi.

Later, at a press conference, Goel said whatever is happening in Shaheen Bagh is a “very big threat to security”.

“Who are they (protesters) to tell whether an ambulance or a bus will pass through the road or not? The way they are mocking law and order, blocking the road and preventing people from going to office and children to schools for so many days, it is a threat to security,” Goel said.

The anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh have been going on for over a month. The sit-in at Shaheen Bagh had begun after violent anti-CAA protest in Jamia Nagar on December 15. The traffic linking Badarapur, Kalindi Kunj and other areas in southeast Delhi to Noida has been affected due to the protest at Shaheen Bagh as the traffic police had closed the entire section of the road linking Mathura Road with Kalindi Kunj — a key stretch to reach Noida and Delhi.

The former Union minister said protesters were “misled” as they have not read the Act.

“Even those who have read it are defining it in an incorrect manner. Businesses worth crores of rupees and normal life in the area have been affected due to the road block. The silent majority is watching all this,” Goel said.

The BJP leader also praised the Delhi Police for “preventing protest from becoming a bigger threat to security”.